CYCLING: Tour of Britain to wind its way through Wiltshire

SOME of the world's top cyclists will pedal through Wiltshire later this year as the Tour of Britain snakes its way through the county.

Stage six of the eight-stage event, which was won last year by Olympic hero Sir Bradley Wiggins, will be over 200km from Bath to Hemel Hempstead, taking in Bradford on Avon and Devizes in Wiltshire on Friday, September 12.

For the first time in its 11-year history, the Tour will run through Bath setting off from the Royal Avenue, through Royal Victoria Park and completing a lap through the city's streets before heading out to Wiltshire, skirting Salisbury Plain and moving on to the Chilterns (see attached map).

Precise details of the route will be unveiled later this summer.

The 2014 Tour begins in Liverpool on Sunday, September 7, finishing eight days later in central London with a double-header final day, featuring an individual time trial and circuit race finishing on Whitehall.

The race will see 18 of the world's top professional cycling teams, including the likes of Team Sky, who won the 2013 Tour with Wiggins, arriving in Bath, for the race, which is televised live in the UK on ITV4 as well as globally.